Safety device foe banes



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet H. W. WAIT.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR BANKS.

.547,702. I a.t n ted Oct. 8,1895.

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UNITED 4 STATES PATENT OFF CE.

HENRY w. WAIT, or IOWA,,L OUISIANA, ASSIGNOR or ONE-THIRD TO E. s.

WILLETT, or SAMEVPLACE.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR BANKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters I'atent No. 547,702, dated October 8, 1895.

Application filed May 23, 1395. Serial No.550,489. (Nomodeh) Jib all whom it mag concern.

Be it known that I, HENRY W. WAIT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Iowa, in the parish of Calcasieu and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and useful Safety Device for Banks, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in safety devices for banks and the like.

The object of the present invention is to provide a safety device or apparatus designed for use in banks and similar institutions of small towns and capable of shielding a cashier or similar officer from the view of a person or persons attempting to rob a bank and adapted to assist in the capture of such persons.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a partition usually employed in banks and similar institutions for dividing off the space occupied by the cashier or other officer having charge of the money, the parts being arranged in position preparatory for'use. Fig. 2 is a similar view, the device or apparatus being arranged for shielding the interior of the compartment divided ofi by the partition. Fig. 3 is a reverse plan view of the flooring,

illustrating the arrangement of the mechanism for tripping the shields. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View of one end of the partition. Fig. 5 is a'similar view taken transversely of thecenter of the partition, illus-. trating the construction of the parts for forming the trap or cell. Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views of parts of thetripping mechanism. Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view illustrating the manner of mounting the tripping mechanism.

Like'numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l designates a partition adapted to be employed in banks and similar institutions for dividing off the space occupied by a cashier or other officer and for separating him from depositors and other persons and provided with anopening or window 2, through which business is transacted in the usual manner. The partition 1 may be constructed of any suitable material and may be made of any preferred design, and it is provided with end posts 3 and a pair of center posts 4, arranged at opposite sides of the window or opening 2. The lower portion 5 of the partition 1 is constructed of wood or any other suitablejmaterial, and arranged on theinner faces of the center and sides thereof are vertically-movable shields 6 and 7, constructed of sheet metal and forming a single structure and adapted, as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings, to be raised to close the window 2 and to cover the side gratings 8 to exclude a cashier or other person within the partition from the view of a person or persons outside the partition'to prevent them from seeing or shooting the cashier. The shields are not designed .to bebullet-proof and are employedin small towns and other places whereattempts frequently are made to rob banks at a time of day, generally early in the morning, when but few persons are on the streets. Such robberies are usually committedby a person approaching the cashiers ortellers window 2 and covering such officer with a weapon and demanding him to turn over the money of the bank. If such a demand be made in a bank provided with the safety device or apparatus herein shown and described, the bank-officer may, while seemingly complying with the request of the robber, trip the shields, by means hereinafter described, and cause himself to be shutoff from the view of the robber. This will prevent the robber from seeing the bank-officer and accurately firing at him and in this mannerwill effectively protect a bank.

The vertically-movable shields aremounted in suitable guides of the posts, preferably by means of vertical slots 9, and they are connected by cables 10 and 11 with end weights 12 and a central weight 13, which is capable of rotation. Each end weight 12 is arranged in the adjacent end post, which is hollow or tubular. The cable 10 passes over a pulley 14 and has one end attached to the weight 12 and its other end secured to the adjacent end of the shield 7 at the upper edge thereof, and the pulley is located within the hollow post 3 at the top thereof.

The cable 11 has one end secured to the shields adjacent to the ends of the central one and is located within the adjacent post 4, which is hollow, and the other end of the cable 1 1 is secured to a vertically-movable top 15, mounted between the upper portions of the central posts 4. All of the cables are preferably constructed of wire, and the cables 11 pass over pulleys 16, mounted within the hollow central post 4 at the top thereof.

The verticallymovable top extends inward from the partition and also upward therefrom, the outwardly-projecting portion being substantially semicircular and being located below the ceiling of the bank. When the top 15 is lowered, it is adapted to rest upon the shelf at the inner side of the tellers window. Vithiu the outwardly-projecting portion is arranged the weight 13, consisting of a box containing a heavysubstance; but it may be constructed in any other suitable manner. The inner side of the weight is jourualed on the inner portion of the top 15, which moves downward with the inner one of the sections 17, and the outer side of the box is journaled on the inner one of a series of telescoping sections 17. The telescoping sections 17 are semicircular and co-operate with a stationary semicircular section 18, which is secured at its ends to the center posts 4. The sections 17 are adapted to slide on the stationary section 18 and on each other, and all of the sections are provided with ribs or flanges 19,10- cated at the upper and lower edges of the sections and limiting the movement of the same to prevent them from separating from one another and to cause them, when actuated by the weight 13, to assume the position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 5 of the accompanying drawings. A lower vertically-movable semicircular section 20 is normally located below the door 21, and it has its ends connected with and it is carried by the vertitically-movable shield 6, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, and it is designed to co-operate with the telescoping sections to form a cage or cell for confining a person standing at the window 2. \Vhen the weight 13 is free to act, it causes the telescoping sections to move downward and raises the shields and the stationary section, and it has sufficient heft to cause a rapid movement of the parts in order to confine a person without giving him a suilicient time to escape. A horizontal cleat 22 is secured to the inner face of the central vertically-movable shield, and is adapted to normally lie in the same plane as the floor 21 and to form a continuation thereof, and it is provided on its lower face with a depending eye 23, which is engaged by a pivoted latch-lever 24, adapted to lock the shields against vertical movement by the weights. The latch-lever 24 is pivoted on the lower face of the fioor at a poiutintermediate of its ends and is provided at one end with an arm for engaging the eye 23, and its other end is connected with tripping mechanism.

Tripping devices or mechanism are designed to be located at different parts of the bank, in order that a cashier or other officer in charge of the money may, while seemingly complying with the orders of a robber, trip the latclrlever and throw the shields upward and operate the parts to form a cell or trap, which will confine the robber if he be standing in front of the window 2. Each tripping device consists of a bell-crank lever 25, having a horizontal arm located above the floor and having a vertical arm passing through a slot of the same and fulcrumed beneath the floor and connected with the latch-lever.

The horizontal arm of the tripping-lever is preferably provided with a foot-plate, and one latch operating or tripping device is located directly beneath the shelf of the window 2 and is connected at 26 with the latch-lever 24. The other tripping-levers are located at different parts of the bank and are designed to be connected by cables 27, suitable pulleys 28 being provided for properly guiding the cables and for causing them to swing the latch-lever in the proper direction to disengage its arm from the eye 22. The triplevers are normally retained in proper position to be depressed by the foot by a spring 29, located beneath the floor and having one end secured to the same and the other end secured to the depending arm of thetrip levcr that is located adjacent to the window 2.

The lower section 20 of the trap or cell operates through a curved or semicircular slot or opening of the floor, and that portion of the floor within the lower section 20 is supported by suitable posts 30, or the like, and is perfectly solid.

It will be seen that the safety device or apparatus is simple and comparatively inexpensive in its construction, that it is positive and reliable in operation, and that it is capable of affording protection for a cashier or other oificer of a bank or similar institution by shielding him from view and by easing or confining any person or persons directlyin front of the cashiers window. It will also be seen that the apparatus or safety device may be readily tripped at various points in the bank and without the knowledge of outside persons and while a bank oihcer or official is apparently complying with the demands of persons attempting to rob a bank. It will also be apparent that as the weight 13, which operates the apparatus, is pivotally mounted or journaled it will prevent a robber from holding the top by placing a post or piece of timber in a vertical position under the top of the apparatus to prevent the descent of the same. If such an attempt be made, the

Weight being capable of rotation will partially rotate and will pass such post or timber, which will not interfere with the operation of the apparatus.

IIC

Changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What I claim is- 1. The combination of a partition designed to be arranged in banks and the like and having a tellers window, a vertically movable shield arranged to cover the upper portion of the partition, the series of telescoping sections located in front of the tellers window and having their ends connected with and sliding on the partition at opposite sides of the window, and adapted to form a cage or cell, and means for operating the shields and the sections, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a partition designed to be arranged in a bank, and provided with a tellers window, a vertically movable shield arranged to cover the window, and the adjacent upper portion of the partition, a lower vertically movable cell section connected with and carried by the shield, a series of telescoping cell sections located in front of the partition at the top thereof, and adapted to co-operate with the lower section to form a cell or cage, and means for operating the shield and the sections, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a partition designed to be arranged in a bank, and provided with a tellers window, a vertically movable shield mounted on the lower portion of the partition and arranged to cover the tellers window and the adjacent upper portion of the partition, the lower cell section located in front of the partition and connected with the shield and normally arranged below the floor, the vertically movable top, the weight journaled on the vertically movable top, the upper stationary cell section, the series of telescoping sec tions, and connections between the weight and the shield, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a partition provided with a tellers window, and having hollow slotted posts, the vertically movable central and side or end shields mounted on the lower portion of the partition, and operating in the slots of the posts, and arranged, when moved upward, to cover the upper portion of the partition, pulleys mounted at the tops of the posts, weights arranged in the posts at the ends of the partition, cables passing over the pulleys at the ends of the partition, and connected with said weights and with the adjacent shields, a Weight arranged at the top of the partition and located at the center thereof, cables passing over the pulleys of the central post and connected with the central weight and with the shields, a latch for locking the shields against vertical movement, and trip levers connected with the latch and adapted to throw the same out of engagement, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY W. WAIT.

Witnesses:

J. H. SIGGERS, DAISY TAYLOR." 

